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Kembure Succession War
The Kembure Succession War was a war that took place in Sab Elai from 3 BT to 1 DR; the main point of contention was who would succeed Lamane Kembure Oghenekaro, who had died with no children but with six wards. Breakout of war In 15 BT, the childless Oghenekaro declared Mpasu Nkemdilim to be his heir; this pronouncement caused controversy among Oghenekaro's other former wards, a dispute that was further stirred by the high number of wards. Nkemdilim was seen as the most well-rounded candidate, but Tshanzim Afolabi maintained that— as the ward with the largest army— he would be more suited to helping Sab Elai's growth. The debate roiled at a low level while Oghenekaro lived, partially out of hope that Oghenekaro would eventually have a son, but no child was born before he died in 3 BT. Nkemdilim held a formal coronation, but Afolabi declared non-recognition of Nkemdilim's lamaneship. His claim was also backed by Adikimb Babatunde, another former ward of Oghenekaro; both were based in the south of the nation, causing much of the region— save Mbonye and its immediate surroundings— to rise in rebellion against Nkemdilim. Early warfare In the earliest stages of war, many of the Yantalai nobles remained neutral; Ngaseru Chidiegwu was one of the only major rulers to publicly come out in support of Nkemdilim's claim. Consequently, the first battles were largely ceremonial. Both sides sought to use large armies and shows of force to intimidate their rivals and to attract uncommitted landholders, leading to a series of resource-intensive battles with low casualty counts. The Tshanzim side had a larger army but less of a financial support base, causing them to have more and earlier problems maintaining their levies; thus, they began to escalate the warfare earlier, launching supply raids into Mpasu territory in the winter. This period culminated in the capture of Mbonye itself in Rasnosia 2 BT, during which Tshanzim troops capitalized on a rainstorm to infiltrate the capital largely undetected. With the south beginning to coalesce around Afolabi, Nkemdilim became increasingly worried about the state of his claim, and he marched his forces into the heart of Tshanzim territory, seeking battle. The two armies met in the fields of Ogbela, where the ensuing Battle of Ogbela saw significant casualty counts on both sides. There was no clear winner; both armies were forced to withdraw and regroup. However, the battle still held symbolic value, showing the remainder of Sab Elai's aristocracy the intensity of the fighting that would ensue. Escalation of warfare In the wake of the Battle of Ogbela, most of the uncommitted tengeis declared for one side or another, based largely on who they thought to be the battle's victor. The Mpasu supporters were relatively scattered throughout Sab Elai, which proved problematic, as Nkemdilim himself was with his army in the solidly pro-Tshanzim south-central region. Thus, while Afolabi sought to solidify support among his followers, Adikimb Babatunde took the head of an army that pursued Nkemdilim throughout the region. Although Babatunde's army had frequently harassed the edges of Nkemdilim's and picked off individual supply wagons or groups of soldiers, the two armies had never had a full-scale battle; rather, Babatunde was seeking to confuse, starve, and discredit the Mpasu side. However, his delay allowed the Mpasu forces to convene outside Ngaseru Chidiegwu's camp in Chukenasu, forming a second army that descended on Babatunde's position. Chidiegwu ultimately encountered Babatunde at Ekenokwe, a settlement controlled by the Adikimb family, in the late summer of 2 BT; there, he was able to reunite with Nkemdilim, allowing the two armies to rout Babatunde. From there, the Mpasu forces moved to capture Ekenokwe itself, creating a Mpasu forward base within Tshanzim territory. During this period, Afolabi himself was largely battling various isolated nobles in the north of Sab Elai. These largely supported Nkemdilim's claim, and although they often swore themselves to Afolabi when he was present in person, they rarely followed through with those promises; consequently, Afolabi found himself having to frequently double back and fight further skirmishes. Drought After the loss of Ekenokwe, Babatunde fled to Afolabi's location, allowing the two of them to join their armies and amass more manpower. Meanwhile, Nkemdilim sent Chidiegwu to procure support in the Ekenokwe area, while personally proceeding eastward to attempt to retake Mbonye. However, the winter proved to be a particularly dry one, forcing Nkemdilim to stop his march and resupply. The dry winter caused a general slowdown in the war, as all of the generals were forced to dismiss portions of their armies in order to maintain harvests. Zebra die-offs also occurred, plaguing Afolabi's more sedentary army in particular. A number of battles took place throughout 1 BT, but no territory changed hands, and many of the battles receded to the ceremonial level of the war's first stages. The following winter saw a resumption of the rainy season as normal. This allowed Nkemdilim to make a second attempt at recapturing Mbonye; he was able to intercept a peasant migration, capturing a large swath of Mbonyites. Thus, when Nkemdilim launched his actual assault on the city, Geboyo Chukwuemeka was not able to muster a significant force, and consequently Nkemdilim recaptured the capital. Conclusion of war When the news reached Afolabi of the loss of Mbonye, he was quick to respond, marching towards Ekenokwe to break Chidiegwu's army. The resulting Second Battle of Ekenokwe was a major victory for the Tshanzim forces, as they slew Chidiegwu himself in the battle. However, seeing a possible opportunity, Kwegoba Adedayo— one of Oghenekaro's previously neutral wards— made his own claim to lamaneship in Granhumes 0 DR. Although Adedayo's declaration was met with widespread scorn, he still commanded a sizable army, forcing the other belligerents to confront him. Nkemdilim marched to the Kwegoba stronghold, and Afolabi sent Babatunde to join forces with him. When the Mpasu-Tshanzim forces met with Adedayo, they defeated his forces without much trouble; however, Babatunde subsequently commanded his own army to turn on Nkemdilim's. In the ensuing battle, Nkemdilim managed to seize victory, and Babatunde was captured and executed by the Mpasu army. Babatunde was also widely criticized for betraying the armistice, causing several lords to defect to the Mpasu side. The war began tilting increasingly in Nkemdilim's favor in the ensuing months, as the increasingly numerous Mpasu forces came to overwhelm settlement after settlement of Tshanzim armies. However, Ekenokwe itself remained securely in Afolabi's hands; during the Kwegoba crisis, Afolabi amassed more manpower and zebras, allowing him to throw off a series of attacks. Thus, no progress was able to be made until the winter came around; Nkemdilim repeated his strategy of intercepting migrations then, and killed many of Afolabi's soldiers. In the spring of 1 DR, the siege of Ekenokwe began in earnest; as the Sungbe River receded, Ekenokwe lost most of its access to freshwater, forcing the keep to surrender to the Mpasu. Afolabi fled during the surrender, but by this point he had very little power to back his claim, and Nkemdilim was unanimously acknowledged as the lamane. Afolabi would eventually be captured in the fall, and executed in 2 DR. Category:Wars